RITRATTI ITALIANI... PORTRAITS OF ITALY. THESE ARE MY LITTLE STORIES AND THOUGHTS, WRITTEN IN BOTH ENGLISH AND ITALIAN, OF THE TIMES I'VE SPENT NELLA BELLA ITALIA.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Giada's Lips/Le labbra di Giada

We had been at the farmhouse called San Giuseppe in Tuscany for a week already and the evenings had fallen into a nice routine.Because we were always tired after a day of sight seeing the dinners in the farmhouse were quiet and restful.After helping Amil to cook and clean in the kitchen we would linger in the dining room for hours.It was dark outside, but inside the fire was blazing and warm, there were many bottles of wine available, and many stories to tell.Tonight it just so happened that the story was about the wine that we were drinking.The wine was a Dolcetto, the bottle it was in had a beautiful label and an intriguing name, Labbra di Giada, Giada's Lips.Bernardo refilled our glasses."I will tell you", he said, in his English which he spoke with a strong Italian accent, "about Giada, and why this wine is named for her lips."I leaned back in my chair and gently swirled the deep red wine in my large round glass.We gave him all of our attention, like children eagerly awaiting a story before bed.

"Many years ago," he began, "when Giada was a young girl, she lived in the town of Dogliani, in Piemonte, with her parents.The family produced red and white wine but especially Dolcetto, because it is the grape and the wine that Dogliani is most famous for.

One day a stranger came to visit them.He was a wine importer from the United States looking for new wines to sell in American restaurants and the family had invited him to taste theirs.Giada was a girl of about 12 then, and as usual, she was present at these meetings.Wine was the main industry in the area, and the business of her family of course, and it was expected that she would learn it and most likely go into the business someday."

Bernardo paused his story and sipped a little wine.The farmhouse and all the Calcione property belonged to him.The castle, the buildings, and all the Tuscan land surrounding it had been in his family for over 500 years.We were honored that he came to eat with us some nights in our rented farmhouse and gifted us with his stories.With his silver white hair and tweed jackets he looked every bit the perfect country gentleman."Allora", he continued, "the importer thought that the Dolcetto had potential, but he made some suggestions. He wanted them to change some things; for example, he wanted them to age it in oak barrels."Bernardo made a slightly disapproving face and we nodded silently in agreement because we all understood that Italians are not fond of wine aged in oak.

"Ma, business is business."We all nodded again, silently again; no one wanted to break the mood."They produced the wine in the way that he asked and three years later the man returned from America to taste the results of their work.We can only imagine the anxiety and anticipation they may have felt, awaiting his opinion.Anyway, he loved the wine, he thought it was perfect for his American restaurants, and a deal was arranged."Bernardo stopped to empty the wine bottle into our glasses.He held up the empty bottle for us to look at while he spoke."The new Dolcetto would need a name of course.Now, also in attendance at this meeting, as usual, was Giada, but like this wine she had also changed much in those three years.She was fifteen now and like many adolescents she could be moody and a little angry and in those days she was most definitely asserting her individuality.Her clothes were all black.Her hair was cut in a peculiar style and dyed a bright purple.Her skin had white powdery makeup applied so that she appeared very pale.And her lips…"We knew what was next of course, but the moment was still wonderful."…her lips were painted with a lipstick a deep rich red color that just happened to match this new wine perfectly. "

Bernardo put the bottle down on the table. "That was many years ago. The family still produces this Dolcetto and sells it to America. Giada is grown now and married. She still lives near Dogliani and yes, she does work in the wine business. You can go and meet her when you find yourself in Dogliani; she owns a wine shop there that sells the wines of that region." Someone at the table asked how it would be possible to find her. "Go into the wine shop in Dogliani", Bernardo instructed us, "and look at the lips of the women. Trust me, you will recognize Giada right away…."

2 comments:

...and winemakers in each of the 5 specified growing areas for Dolcetto have continued to experiment to this day with aging in oak, a relatively new phenomenon specifically for Dolcetto, which, as is noted, traditionally is a steel vat aged wine. Dogliani has received its DOCG for Dolcetto, and now Dolcetto from this region is simply called "Dogliani", much like Barolo and Barbaresco.

I have heard the story le Labbra di Giada many times. I think the course of tastes are changing here in Italy with respect to aging in barrique -- as long as it is not overdone, the Italians in Piemonte seem to be warming up to this process.

About Me

Life is strange... How else can you explain how a bottle of red table wine could set into motion a series of wonderful events that have brought me here. Read my stories, in English or Italian, as you wish, come vuoi, and enjoy them. Grazie.